Analyzing Flory Bidunga, Tre White, and Darryn Peterson in the Kansas-Iowa State Game

January 13th, 2026

by Alan Lu

I was hoping I would be seeing a good game, in the sense that it maybe it would end up being a close one, and also be a game where Darryn Peterson would be spectacular in a live game. I was quite surprised to find out that Iowa State was ranked number two in the country right now. But knowing that Kansas has always been great at home, and has a lot of talent on their roster, it should not have been much of a surprise that Kansas ending up winning big against Iowa State.

I was hoping for a very competitive game. Instead, this ended up being like the sunk cost fallacy of games, and it was not close at all. Kansas pretty much had the momentum from the jump and never looked back. This game was great for Kansas and Kansas fans. That’s pretty much about it. There was a stretch where Joshua Jefferson and a bunch of random Iowa State players made some shots in the second half to almost make it close, but the game never got within single digits in the second half, and Kansas ended up winning by 21.

Most of Kansas’ players played great. As for Darryn Peterson? I would say…his performance was fairly solid. He’s had better, but this game won’t make or break his draft stock, which should still remain firmly in the top 3 pick discussion for the 2026 draft.

Flory Bidunga played terrific basketball. He provided great energy and made a lot of excellent plays in the paint. He was terrific as a scorer around the basket, and he would catch lobs to score on strong dunks off of rolls to the rim. He also showed some shot creation skills, and he was able to split a double team to score on a dunk off the dribble.

Bidunga did a terrific job as a shot blocker, as he played great defense and provided excellent rim protection to help Kansas get a big win. Plus, he also showed some solid passing skills, as he would make crisp passes out of the post. He also was effective as a rebounder. Bidunga played very well in this game against Iowa State, and he is a very athletic big man that could end up being a first round pick in the 2026 draft.

Tre White had a tremendous game in his team’s win over Iowa State. He did a terrific job of making threes as he shot the ball really well, especially from the corners. He also made good passes, and was very active on the glass. Overall, White played smart, sound basketball. He scored 19 points, made 5 threes, and had 10 rebounds and 3 assists, and he is a very skilled forward that could end up being a solid player in the NBA.

Darryn Peterson had a decent showing in his team’s win over Iowa State. He was effective as a driver and cutter, and he passed the ball well. He didn’t quite shoot as well from the outside and he had a couple of questionable ball-handling turnovers, but he was able to make a smooth, pull-up three.

It wasn’t his best night, but he wasn’t terrible, as he had 16 points on 6 of 15 shooting, as well as 5 rebounds, and his team won big tonight. Peterson was able to show some deft footwork and ball handling to make some tough shots, and he also showed good court vision with the passes he made in this game. He’s also had some terrific performances earlier this season, so his draft standing should be fine as is as a top 3 prospect for the 2026 draft.

Melvin Council Jr. played well in his team’s win over Iowa State. He did a good job of scoring on quick drives to the hoop, as he also showed good balance and body control to finish those plays. He also shot the three-ball well. He also generally excelled as a playmaker, and he made smart passes to get assists, though he also committed some ball-handling turnovers. Council also rebounded the ball well. He is an athletic, fleet-footed playmaker that has flown under the radar, and he is a skilled combo guard that could end up being an effective role player in the NBA.

Jamari McDowell played very well, as he did a great job of making threes off the catch, made pinpoint passes to rack up assists, and he showed off very good court vision. He also played tenacious defense, and he would frequently get his hands on balls top get steals. Overall, he played great basketball, and he is an agile, skilled combo guard that could be an intriguing prospect to watch in the future.

Elmarko Jackson had a good showing in his team’s double-digit win over Iowa State. He quietly had a solid all-around game. He made a corner three, would frequently drive to the hoop to get to the free throw line, he made smart, crisp passes, and he also played pesky defense by poking balls away to get steals. He is an athletic playmaker that played very well off the bench, and he could end up being an effective role player in the NBA.

Bryson Tiller played fairly well in his team’s win over Iowa State. He was effective as a scorer around the basket, and he also showed nifty footwork to score out of the post. He showed a solid mid-range shot, and could finish plays above the rim. He also was effective as an interior defender, as he was able to block a shot to a teammate. He did foul an opponent on a three-point shot once. Still, he had a fairly solid showing in his team’s win over Iowa State.

Joshua Jefferson put forth an uneven performance in his team’s loss to Kansas. He had a terrific stat line this season, heading into this game. That had no bearing on how well he would play tonight, though.

Against Kansas, he had a very bad first half, which was plagued by constant turnovers. He had trouble driving into traffic, he was throwing inaccurate passes. He played better in the second half, as he showed that he can ably make threes, score in the post, as well as on hustle plays. He also would contest shots to help get some stops in the paint, but also was foul prone. He had his ups and downs, as he shot the ball well when he didn’t turn the ball over, but unfortunately, the vast amount of early turnovers he and his teammates committed seemed to kill any sort of momentum Iowa State were trying to generate in this game.

Milan Momcilovic was a non-factor in the first half, as he was plagued by foul trouble and had trouble defending quicker players off the dribble. He was able to show he can make spot-up threes, and he also scored on a tough hook shot out of the post, but generally, Momcilovic was nowhere near as effective as a shooter or scorer compared to how he’s performed this season. Overall, he wasn’t quite as much of a factor as he should’ve been, and his uneven performance was a bit lackluster in his team’s loss to Kansas.

Tamin Lipsey did not play very well against Kansas, as he struggled to make threes, particularly off the catch, and he really struggled to score against the stingy defense when driving to the hoop. He did occasionally score on a quick basket here and there, or throw a solid pass every once in a while, and he also drew a charge on the defensive end, albeit that call could’ve gone either way. But mostly though, Lipsey struggled mightily in his team’s blowout loss on the road.

Oh, and Jamarion Batemon played well for Iowa State. He made a couple of deep threes off the bench, scored on a couple of tough drives to the rim, and he also intercepted a pass to get a steal. Why didn’t this guy play more?

Iowa State should play him many more minutes for the rest of the season. They should play him more. A lot more. He was their best player tonight.

Nate Heise did a good job of making shots off the bench for Iowa State, and he did so in a variety of ways. He made spot-up threes, scored on a drive in traffic, and he also threw down a dunk off of a cut. He also played well for the Cyclones in their blow-out loss to Kansas.

All in all, Kansas came ready to play, and Iowa State played like they didn’t even need to bother showing up. In a nutshell, Kansas’ performance was great, and Iowa State’s performance in this game was absolutely terrible. That’s how the game went tonight. Anyways, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading.